Below is a beginner-friendly guide to setting up VisionAgent using Python’s built-in virtual environment tool, venv. We’ll walk you through installing Python (if needed), creating and activating a virtual environment, installing VisionAgent, and setting environment variables for your API keys.

1. Install or Verify Python 3.10

Why virtual environments with venv?

venv is a built-in tool (since Python 3.3) that allows you to isolate project dependencies. This prevents conflicts between different Python projects on your system, much like conda but without the extra overhead of the conda environment manager.

1.1 Check If You Have Python Installed

1. Mac or Linux:

   Open a Terminal and type:

   python3 --version
   
   

2. Windows:

   Open Command Prompt or PowerShell and type:

   python --version
   
   

• If it shows something like Python 3.10.x, you’re good to go.
• If you get an error or a lower version, download and install Python 3.10 (64-bit) from the official Python website.

Make sure to check the box to add Python to your PATH during installation on Windows, or you might have to manually update your PATH.

2. Create and Activate a Virtual Environment

1. Open a Terminal (Mac/Linux) or Command Prompt/PowerShell (Windows).

2. Navigate to a folder where you’d like to keep your project (optional step), for example:

   cd ~/projects    # Mac/Linux
   cd %USERPROFILE%\\projects  # Windows
   
   

3. Create a new folder for your VisionAgent project (optional, but keeps things organized):

   mkdir visionagent-project
   cd visionagent-project
   
   

4. Create a virtual environment named va (short for “VisionAgent”):

   • Mac/Linux:

     python3 -m venv va
     
     

   • Windows:

     python -m venv va
     
     

5. Activate the environment:

   • Mac/Linux:

     source va/bin/activate
     
     

     (Your prompt will usually change to (va).)

   • Windows (CMD):

     va\\Scripts\\activate
     
     

   • Windows (PowerShell):

     .\\va\\Scripts\\activate
     
     

     (Your prompt will usually change to (va).)

3. Install VisionAgent

1. Ensure the va environment is activated (you should see (va) or similar in your prompt).